


Tsukkiyama Month 2017 Fills

by Marks



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (not really) - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Artists, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - MMO, Alternate Universe - News Reporters, Alternate Universe - Office, Alternate Universe - Popstar, Canon Compliant, Instagram, M/M, Teaching, Time Travel, tsukkiyamamonth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-01-29 22:38:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12640740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marks/pseuds/Marks
Summary: These are most of my fills for Tsukkiyama Month 2017 on Tumblr. All prompts and ratings in the chapter titles.





	1. Day 1 - Genderbend, T

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted most of these over on Tumblr. Also, two of the fics got super long, so I broke them out into their own fics. You can find them here:
> 
> * Day 11, Actors: [A Glove Upon That Hand](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12800505), T, 4843 words  
> * Day 17, Different Sports: [King of the Court](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12871695), T, 2053 words

Prompt: Genderbend, Rating T. This one’s part of something longer I’ve been batting around for a while.

\--

“You’re pretty sad, you know that?”

Yamaguchi turned around. “Excuse me?” he said.

A guy in his grade was leaning up against one of the trees outside the gym where the girls’ team was playing. Yamaguchi knew him a little, but he didn’t think he’d ever talked to him before — and with good reason, too. He was exactly the kind of guy Tsukki liked calling pathetic. Of course, she called lots of people pathetic — Yamaguchi even used to fall into that category, but that was ancient history now. Anyway, sixteen-year-old Tsukki was a little more discerning than the ten-year-old one.

“You heard me,” the guy said. “I know who you’re waiting around for — you’re always here. Following around that giant freak girl like a loyal dog. But she ain’t gonna give it up to you no matter how much you beg.”

Yamaguchi went tense all over. He tried not to be super obvious about his crush, but it wasn’t like that was why he was Tsukki’s friend. Yeah, _of course_ , Tsukki was tall and gorgeous and got hit on by guys constantly, even when Yamaguchi was standing right next to her, but he wanted to be friends with her no matter what. Tsukki was so smart and made Yamaguchi laugh more than anyone else and she was trying so hard at volleyball now, saying she couldn’t let the Karasuno girls fall behind the boys if Yamaguchi was going to put in so much effort. She had so much going for her, and Yamaguchi literally couldn’t imagine his life without her in it.

It sucked that people thought the only reason a boy would hang out with a girl was because he wanted in her pants.

The guy ambled away from the tree, hands jammed into his pockets, and took a few steps closer to Yamaguchi. It took all of Yamaguchi’s bravery to not stumble back; instead, he lifted his chin and tried channeling Tsukki’s best glare.

“You know why you’re hopeless?” the guy said. “Because she’s a _dyke_. I mean, it’s so obvious.” He shrugged, too casual. “Why else would she say no to me?”

Yamaguchi laughed right in his face at that; he couldn’t help it. “I don’t know and I don’t care if she is. She can date anyone she wants as long as she’s happy.” He shrugged right back, actually casual. “But what I do know is she’s too good for you. Don’t you get it? If you were an ant, you wouldn’t even be good enough for Tsukki to step on.”

The guy glared and grabbed the front of Yamaguchi’s jacket, but Yamaguchi brushed his hand off and shoved him away. 

“Who’s pretty sad now?” Yamaguchi challenged.

“Yamaguchi?”

He turned around to see Tsukki standing there with her bag slung over her arm, the same one that matched his. Her headphones were hanging around her neck, and her long braid was messy and spilling down over one shoulder. She looked so pretty that Yamaguchi felt his heart speed up just at the sight of her. He also noticed that behind her glasses, her eyes were flitting between him and the asshole, curious. Yamaguchi went right over to her and the guy didn’t do or say anything now that Tsukki was there, too. And then Yamaguchi walked away with Tsukki by his side, like always.

“What was that all about?” she asked, once they were out of earshot.

Yamaguchi glanced over at her, pleased to notice that his last growth spurt had left them practically eye-to-eye. “Just crushing some ant,” he said, and grinned.


	2. Day 2 - Harry Potter, G

Prompt: Harry Potter, Rating: G. Sort of Christmassy!

\--

When they first got sorted into different houses, Yamaguchi thought that was the end of their friendship. Why would anyone as great as Tsukishima still want to hang out with Yamaguchi when he had a whole house of cool smart kids to choose from now? But Tsukishima had surprised him; from their first year, he spent more time at the Hufflepuff table than he did the Ravenclaw one, he always paired with Yamaguchi when their houses had classes together, and when Yamaguchi finally managed to ask why that was, Tsukishima told him to stop asking such dumb questions.

It made a little more sense in sixth year when Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard Tournament again. Not because either of them put their name into the Goblet – no, Yamaguchi was more than happy to let Hinata from Gryffindor have the honor and Tsukishima wouldn’t have been caught dead participating – but because they held a Yule Ball.

Yamaguchi watched anxiously as guys from every house asked girls out. Some of them got pretty elaborate about it – poems and songs and weird holiday-themed hologram charms that went wrong – and probably anyone watching Yamaguchi thought he was just trying to work up the nerve to ask out the girl he had a crush on. And they would have been mostly right; everything, that was, except the girl part.

One night, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were in the library together, studying for Arithmancy, which Tsukki was naturally good at and Yamaguchi only stuck with because he needed the N.E.W.T. if he wanted to be a curse-breaker after leaving school. Tsukishima was bent over Yamaguchi’s parchment, pointing out where his numbers were mixed up, and the light from the torches highlighted his blond hair. Yamaguchi wanted to press his lips right against the top of Tsukishima’s head.

“...Yamaguchi?” Tsukishima said, and it sounded like that wasn’t the first time he’d tried to get Yamaguchi’s attention. He sat up straight and raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t seem annoyed, just amused by Yamaguchi’s spaciness.

“Sorry, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi said.

“Am I boring you?” Tsukishima asked.

Yamaguchi shook his head vigorously. “Never.”

“Good. But we’ve probably had enough of this anyway.” Tsukishima started gathering up his things; Yamaguchi watched him, admiring his serious face, the way his robes fit him, his nice hands with their long fingers. Two on his right hand were still taped up after a scuffle during Ravenclaw’s Quidditch match against Slytherin last weekend. Tsukishima looked up suddenly, meeting Yamaguchi’s eyes, and Yamaguchi felt embarrassed to be caught staring.

“Can I ask you something?” Tsukishima said suddenly.

Yamaguchi blinked, thrown off by the unexpected question. “Of course, Tsukki.”

Tsukishima reached into his robes for his wand and murmured an incantation. Then he cleared his throat. “Do you – ah – do you always have mistletoe over your head or are you just happy to see me?”

Yamaguchi looked up; sure enough, a sprig of mistletoe was floating above his head. He looked back at Tsukishima with wide eyes. “Um. The second one,” Yamaguchi managed, shocked by his good fortune. He barely had time for his brain to catch up with what was happening when Tsukishima took two steps toward him and bent over to press his mouth to Yamaguchi’s. The kiss was warm and brief and left Yamaguchi shaking.

“Come to the Yule Ball with me,” Tsukishima said, though his voice went up on the last word, almost a question. That little bit of uncertainty was just one more thing to love about him.

“Of course, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said, and grabbed the charmed mistletoe so he could kiss Tsukishima again.


	3. Day 3 - Afterlife, G

Prompt: Afterlife, Rating G. Not AU, not angsty, and not about the afterlife. I'm so good at this!

\--

“Hey, Tsukki?” 

Tsukishima looked up from his book. Yamaguchi was sitting at his desk across the room, but he wasn’t hunched over his work anymore. Instead, he was turned around in his chair and watching Tsukishima on the bed. He seemed pretty worried, but that could mean almost anything. Yamaguchi worried about a lot of things.

“Do you believe in reincarnation?” Yamaguchi asked.

“I thought you were studying for our math test,” Tsukishima said.

“I was. But I took a break and… kind of got caught in a Wikipedia spiral. There’s a lot of interesting theories out there.” He looked at Tsukishima expectantly. “So?”

Tsukishima knew this wasn’t really about reincarnation or the afterlife or anything overly morbid; Yamaguchi’s worries had been pointing toward endings a lot lately. It made sense, though. They were third-years now, and a lot of things were about to end: summer training camps, playing volleyball for Karasuno, high school itself. Tsukishima would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t also care about what happened next, and he just wasn’t as good at lying to himself as he used to be. 

But the thing about endings was they always led to new beginnings.

“I think –” Tsukishima sighed. He saved his place in his book and put it down on the bed. “I don’t know. But I think if it is, we’d always find each other.”

“Tsukki, that’s so romantic!” Yamaguchi exclaimed, then went beet red when he realized what he’d said. “No, not romantic – sorry, Tsukki – I didn’t mean –”

Tsukishima slid off the bed and walked across the room. Yamaguchi’s mouth snapped shut and he swallowed visibly.

“Romantic’s okay,” Tsukishima assured Yamaguchi, tugging him to his feet. They were standing very close together. “Isn’t it?” 

Yamaguchi managed a nod just before their mouths met.


	4. Day 4 - TV/Press Reporters, G

Prompt: TV/Press Reporters, Rating: G. Rumpled producer Yamaguchi is my new go-to happy place.

\--

Yamaguchi leaned back in his desk chair and groaned, rubbing his face in a stupid attempt to rid himself of his exhaustion. He dropped his hands again and looked down, grimacing at his rumpled suit. He hated this suit. It was a size too big, so it was loose everywhere, but it also wasn’t long enough at the wrists or ankles because he was so tall. And why was it brown? Why had he ever thought buying a brown suit was a good idea?

Hinata bounced up to his desk. “Tadashi, you want to come to lunch? Kageyama bet he could eat more ramen than me.” His face went suddenly hard. “I’m going to beat his ass into the ground.”

“Metaphorically?” Yamaguchi asked hopefully.

“Yeah, sure,” Hinata said, after a particularly terrifying pause.

Yamaguchi shook his head. “As much fun as watching you trying to eat yourselves to death sounds, I have to say no. I’m swamped.”

“You work too hard,” Hinata said. He rapped twice on Yamaguchi’s desk and walked away.

That wasn’t wrong. Yamaguchi worked long hours and ate more meals at his desk than he did anywhere else. But he was a producer and he was good at it, and he liked being their evening news anchors’ favorite producer because he was a hard worker and always so reliable.

Okay, he revised, he liked being _one_ anchor’s favorite producer.

As if he could read Yamaguchi’s thoughts – _oh god, please don’t be able to read my thoughts_ – Tsukishima Kei showed up in the newspen just then, looking impeccable and camera-ready as always. He was even taller than Yamaguchi, but his suits were always perfectly tailored and fit him like a glove. Yamaguchi felt certain that Tsukishima would never be caught dead in a brown suit, either, even though he was so hot that he’d probably even make that work somehow.

Yamaguchi wasn’t the only one who noticed, either; Tsukishima had a huge fanclub that seemed thrilled by the way he completely ignored their existence. It certainly didn’t stop them from flooding the station with gifts and letters and flowers.

And Yamaguchi couldn’t blame them for it at all, he thought, not looking away from Tsukishima for even a second. He was staring so hard that it took him a moment to realize Tsukishima was coming over to him.

“Yamaguchi.”

“Hey!” Yamaguchi said cheerfully, pretending he hadn’t just been undressing Tsukishima with his eyes. “I got a lead on that investigative work Tanaka wanted to do. We’ll probably be ready to go with that in a day or two.”

“That’s good to hear. You’re such a hard worker,” Tsukishima said, and Yamaguchi beamed at the praise. “But I wasn’t here to talk about the show.”

“Oh?” Yamaguchi tilted his head. “What did you need?”

Tsukishima ran his hand through his hair; he seemed a little nervous, but Yamaguchi had no earthly idea why. “Would you like to go to lunch?”

Yamaguchi groaned immediately. “Did Hinata get to you?”

“What? No. When do I ever voluntarily talk to Hinata?”

“Oh.” Yamaguchi wrinkled his forehead. “So you _don’t_ want to watch Kageyama and Hinata eat their weight in ramen?”

Tsukishima looked so appalled that Yamaguchi started laughing into his hand and had to apologize. 

“No, I just wanted to have a meal with you. Lunch or dinner – or drinks. Drinks after the show would be good, too,” Tsukishima said, wringing his hands together. “Alone,” he added after a moment.

Yamaguchi blinked at him for what felt like several hours. “That, uh,” he said slowly, “that kind of sounds like a date.”

“Well… yes.” Tsukishima went pink across his nose and cheeks; it was endearing seeing him so flustered, even if Yamaguchi thought his own cheeks must be pretty pink right then, too. Then Tsukishima straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin, making him all intimidating serious anchorman again. “So?” he challenged.

“So, yes,” Yamaguchi replied, puffing out his own chest to cover for how he was dying inside. Then he deflated again. “But tonight, after the show. I really do have a lot of work to do right now.”

Tsukishima stared at him for just long enough that Yamaguchi started to get nervous and think it was all a huge misunderstanding, but then one corner of Tsukishima’s mouth quirked up. “You’re cool, Yamaguchi,” he said and walked away. 

Yamaguchi’s face was on fire, but he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he turned back to his computer.


	5. Day 5 - Crossovers, G

Prompt: Crossover, Rating: G. I’m honestly pretty awful at crossovers, so I went the fairy tale AU route. This is a play off The Crane Wife, but with a happy ending, and really not much to do with The Crane Wife at all. See? Bad at crossovers. This is the first one that was too long to just stick up on Tumblr first.

\--

Tsukishima lived alone, and that was the way he liked it. He ventured into town for food and supplies when he had to, and people in the village would consult with him because his ideas were always good, but in general, he had no time for people and his sour demeanor put off anyone who might wish to prove otherwise.

One day, Tsukishima was gathering herbs from the garden behind his house when he heard a pitiful sound. It wasn’t a person crying or the sad baying of a dog or wolf, but a scratchy long _caw_ that would have been a whine if it had been higher pitched. He went off in search of the noise and found an injured young crow. Its wing was bent at a strange angle and all of the feathers on its head were ruffled indignantly, forming a point on top. It was honestly the most pathetic sight Tsukishima had ever seen, and he considered putting the thing out of its misery.

But just then the bird hopped over to Tsukishima’s foot and pecked at his sandal with its beak, letting out another long _caw_ and narrowing its eyes at him. It seemed to be saying _what the hell, dude? It’s just a wing. Are you saying you want someone to kill you if you break your arm? That’s messed up._

Because no one else was around, Tsukishima could admit that was pretty cute. So he took the crow inside and decided to nurse it back to health.

It took many days and one trip into town to procure a book about the care of crows, which required at least four more polite conversations than Tsukishima was used to having, but soon the young crow was nearing full health again. As it turned out, Tsukishima liked having the crow around. He named him Yam because he yawned a lot in the early days while he was healing and sort of looked like a round potato, and every time Tsukishima said “Yam” out loud, the young crow would hop around excitedly. This, too, was pretty cute.

The day that Yam’s splint and bandages could finally be removed so Tsukishima could see how much his wing mobility had improved, two of Tsukishima’s least favorite neighbors, Kageyama and Hinata came over. They had forgotten all of the advice he’d last given them, so he charged them twice as much as usual, but they didn’t even seem to notice because they were too busy giving Yam attention.

“Wow!” Hinata exclaimed, when Yam hopped into his lap and pecked at his hand. “He’s a smart little birdie, isn’t he?”

“Smarter than you,” Tsukishima said, because it was true.

“Why are you always such a jerk, Tsukishima?” Kageyama asked, but any witty retort Tsukishima would have made was lost when Yam opened his beak and said, clear as anything, _Tsukki_.

“Crows can’t – they don’t talk, do they?” Kageyama said, and Tsukishima shook his head because he didn’t think so. 

“Probably just a coincidence,” Tsukishima said, sounding more sure than he felt.

“Say Shouyou,” Hinata said. He pronounced each syllable carefully. “Can you say ‘Shouyou’?”

Tsukishima let out an irritated sigh. “Can you say ‘get out of my house’?” Kageyama punched him hard in the arm, which hurt very much, but they gathered their things and got ready to leave.

“Come visit us any time, Yam!” Hinata said, then narrowed his eyes at Tsukishima. “Not you.”

Tsukishima pushed up his glasses and looked down his nose at Hinata, which was already pretty easy because he was very short. “Oh no, whatever shall I do?” he asked sarcastically.

And Kageyama, who would probably be back next week to consult him on some other matter, flipped him the bird and said, “Get bent, Tsukishima.”

“Tsukki!” Yam said, and they all startled again.

Later that afternoon, when the sun was still out but starting to dip behind the trees, Tsukishima carefully unwrapped Yam’s bandages and watched as Yam stretched out his bad wing. It was no longer a bad wing, though, which was obvious when Yam flapped up into the air, returning to perch on Tsukishima’s shoulder.

“Just go,” Tsukishima said gruffly. “Your family probably misses you.”

Yam tugged on the ends of Tsukishima’s hair with his beak, nuzzled his ear, and then took to the skies. Tsukishima watched him disappear toward the horizon, ignoring the pang in his chest when he could no longer see Yam at all. 

That night, it took Tsukishima a very long time to fall asleep. Would Yam ever visit? Was his nest nearby? Did birds even have the brain capacity to remember humans later? Why was he such an idiot who asked himself so many stupid bird questions? But eventually he drifted off, only to be awakened by tapping on his window.

“Yam?” Tsukishima muttered, pulling himself from sleep. He made himself get up and look out the window, even though he felt pretty moronic doing so. Outside, there was no crow, but there was a man. He was about Tsukishima’s age, tall, and had more freckles than Tsukishima had ever seen on a person. One piece of his messy hair stood up in the back, and he wore the widest, prettiest grin Tsukishima had ever seen. Honestly, if Tsukishima had encountered this man in town instead of outside his window in the _middle of the night_ , he probably would have stared. Subtly, though, of course. As it was, though –

“Who the hell are you?” Tsukishima demanded.

“Tsukki!” the man crowed. “It’s me! You healed my wing and broke my curse, and I came back so we can be together forever!”

“ _What_?”

In his shock, Tsukishima stood up straight and slammed the top of his head into his window pane, making him pass out, right there on the floor of his bedroom. Lucky for him, Yam – who was really a person called Tadashi who'd had a curse put on him by a warlock who was totally jealous of his freckles, which was a very long story for another time – had learned a thing or two about nursing creatures back to health.

By the time Tsukishima regained consciousness and heard the whole story, he’d decided that maybe people weren’t so bad and said it was okay if Tadashi stayed with him forever. They lived happily ever after, or maybe Tsukishima had just hit his head so hard that it seemed that way.

The end.


	6. Day 6 - Virtual Reality, G

Prompt: Virtual Reality, Rating: G. Can you tell I’ve been watching a lot of Recovery of a MMO Junkie? For the record, I don’t think people who quit their jobs are losers. Tsukishima is what we in the fanfic biz like to call an “unreliable narrator.” ~720 words, G.

\--

Tsukishima hid behind his shield, trying to keep it propped up against his back as he healed the guild Captain. Sawamura’s avatar popped back up immediately and slapped Tsukishima on the back, hard. If this were real life instead of a game, Tsukishima would have fallen over.

“Thought I was done for,” Sawamura said and dashed off after Azumane to complete the campaign, the rest of the team following close behind. Tsukishima was deciding if he should bother following them when a pop-up appeared announcing Yamaguchi’s arrival. He entered the game already in a fighting stance, a huge grin on his face, which slipped off as soon as he realized almost everyone had gone on ahead. 

“Man!” Yamaguchi said, spear already in hand, propping it up on his shoulder. “I miss everything fun when I get caught at work!”

“Yeah, real life’s a drag,” Tsukishima said, waving his character’s hand to clear his items from the screen. 

Yamaguchi spun around. “Tsukki!” he exclaimed happily, spamming Tsukishima’s whole chat window with super happy emoji. “What are you still doing here?”

“Sawamura-san took an orb to the face, and I drained most of my daily health healing him. Everyone ran ahead.” Tsukishima shrugged. “But they don’t really need me for this battle anyway.”

Almost everyone who came in contact with Tsukishima was surprised by the apathy he showed for a game he played voluntarily. But he wasn’t really that indifferent; he just wasn’t as hotheaded as the rest of his team. He played extra hard during events for limited items, upgraded his equipment and weaponry when his budget allowed for it, and strategized for the guild as much as possible. 

Really, though, Tsukishima played for this moment every day, the moment Yamaguchi got home from work and signed on. They’d played together for almost a year now, and Yamaguchi was the only player he spoke privately with on a regular basis. A couple of times, Tsukishima almost asked if they could meet up for real, but his courage always failed him. For all Tsukishima knew, Yamaguchi lived hundreds of miles away or was married or was three ten year olds in a trenchcoat furiously Googling ‘what grown-ups do at work all day.’

Okay, so it probably wasn’t that last one. Still, the internet was full of people pretending to be things that they weren’t. Like, Yamaguchi was always telling Tsukishima how cool he was. He didn’t know that Tsukishima quit his job because he was so overworked and the only people he interacted with regularly were his immediate family and the cute, freckled cashier guy from the combini two blocks from his apartment. Yeah, better to keep his virtual life and his real life separate. Yamaguchi didn’t need to know Tsukishima was really a giant loser.

Yamaguchi’s avatar grinned at Tsukishima again. It was almost as nice as the cute combini guy’s smile, which was a terrible thing to think about a cartoon. “Since you’re drained and I’ve been sidelined,” Yamaguchi said, “why don’t we go loiter at the pub? I’ll buy you a fake drink.”

Tsukishima shrugged. “Sure.”

Their characters settled at a table and they spent most of the night talking, not just about the game. When their conversation started veering toward more personal topics than Tsukishima was willing to talk about in a public chat, he switched to whispers. Yamaguchi transitioned without a beat, and by the time Tsukishima finally looked at his clock, it was two in the morning. Startled, he was about to ask Yamaguchi if he had to get up early for work, when Yamaguchi asked suddenly, “Tsukishima, have you ever met anyone from the game for real?”

In his apartment, Tsukishima blinked at his screen and read what Yamaguchi wrote again.

“Tsukishima? Are you there?”

“No,” Tsukishima said. In real life, he swore out loud. “I mean, yes, I’m here. But no, I’ve never met anyone.”

“Oh,” Yamaguchi said. He didn’t type anything else and Tsukishima realized he was holding his breath. “Well,” Yamaguchi said eventually. “Would you want to?”

Tsukishima let his breath out slowly. He could say no. He could say he had a no meetup policy. He could tell Yamaguchi _he_ was three kids in a trenchcoat. Or.

“Yes,” Tsukishima typed.

Yamaguchi’s avatar smiled for the thousandth time that night.


	7. Day 7 - J-Pop/K-pop

Prompt: J-pop/K-pop, Rating: G. Ah yes the fandom thing I’ve never been in and have somehow never figured out via osmosis, despite having about 200 friends who have been sucked into the j-pop or k-pop vortex. ~485 words, G, marks do you ever get sick of moon imagery? Nope.

\--

Tadashi loves being on stage. He loves the lights, he loves the cheering crowds, he loves singing songs, and he’s been at it long enough now that he doesn’t even mind the dancing anymore. But what he loves more than anything is glancing off-stage and seeing Tsukki waiting for him in the wings. If he looks when Tsukki’s not expecting it, he might even catch him smiling or – blessed days – tapping his foot.

After his final encore, Tadashi runs off stage. Tsukki hands him a bottle of water and a towel, like always.

“Thanks, Manager-chan,” Tadashi says. He chugs the bottle and wipes his face with the towel, handing it back to Tsukki when he’s done. Their hands overlap and Tadashi might be imagining it, but he thinks Tsukki squeezes his hand when they do.

*

Two days later, Tadashi has a full schedule, running from dance practice to the studio to his weekly radio show and, finally, to a talk show appearance. The interviewers are friendly and ask politely about his inspiration for his new album, Songs for the Moon.

Tadashi has a prepared statement about that, one he and Tsukki wrote together. It talks about how the moon is something anyone on earth can see, even if two people aren’t in the same place at the same time. It talks about how the moon is simultaneously so close and yet so far away. It talks about how cold and grey the moon can seem, but how it’s the earth’s constant celestial companion and how interlocked they are. 

It’s a good statement and they worked hard on it. It’s even all true. But it’s not what Tadashi says.

“Most of my inspiration came from my manager,” Tadashi admits. Every single song, in fact. He doesn’t look off-stage, even though he’s sure Tsukki’s surprised right now.

“Oh?” the interviewer asks. “Is that because he makes sure you stay on track?”

Tadashi flashes her a brilliant grin. “Something like that.”

“What a good manager!” she says, and claps her hands together. She’s right. Tsukki’s the best manager, the best everything. And now everyone will know it.

The hosts introduce the first single off the new album, and Tadashi walks into the spotlight, ready to show off his new choreography.

*

When the director calls cut and the cameras stop rolling, Tadashi heads backstage and braces himself.

But Tsukki just hands him a bottle of water and a towel, like always. The closest thing Tadashi gets to a lecture is Tsukki saying, “I’m so glad I stayed up until three in the morning with you to write something you didn’t even say.” The thing about it is, he _does_ sound glad. And then he kisses the top of Tadashi’s head. 

Tadashi looks into his face, surprised. That isn’t like always.

Tsukki smiles. “Thank you, Tadashi.”

And Tadashi feels like he could fly to the moon and back.


	8. Day 8 - Office Workers

Prompt: Office workers, Rating: G. Also crossposted to writetomyheart for my turn this round. ~525 words

\--

"See you tomorrow!" Yachi smiled and waved on her way to the elevator. "Don't work too hard," she added.

Yamaguchi saluted her from his desk, which was kind of a copout answer, but she'd just do her cute worried frown thing if he told her he was planning on staying until his desk was clear. This was because Yamaguchi's desk was never clear, especially not during the busy season. Once, he fell asleep right on a pile of file folders and woke up just in time for people to congratulate him on getting into the office so early.

"Why are you still here?" someone asked. It was a familiar voice, and when Yamaguchi looked up, he was already smiling sheepishly. "Did you not notice everyone else is gone?" Tsukishima asked.

"You're still here," Yamaguchi pointed out.

Tsukishima pointed to his bag and then deliberately smoothed down the front of his coat; it was a really nice coat, good material and tailored, but Yamaguchi knew he wasn't just pointing out his fashion sense.

"I have deadlines?" Yamaguchi tried again.

"We all have deadlines," Tsukishima said. He picked up Yamaguchi's briefcase and put it on his desk. "And don't think I haven't noticed you doing more than your fair share because people know you'll stay late to get things done. Come on, let me buy you dinner."

Yamaguchi blinked. Tsukishima was his work friend, so they went out drinking with their colleugues after work or sometimes they'd even go out for food in a big group after a project finished, and it was always nice when they wound up sitting or standing together. And that was only half because Tsukishima was so easy on the eyes. Sitting next to Tsukishima was the only way to hear him mumbling sarcastically about their coworkers falling over themselves as the beer started flowing more freely. Which was kind of ironic, since the frequency of Tsukishima's comments increased the more beer _he_ drank. And one time -- just once -- they got squashed next to each other at a table and Yamaguchi refused to move his leg the whole time because that would mean Tsukishima's leg was no longer pressed up against his. But they'd never gone out alone.

"Well?" Tsukishima prompted, still waiting for an answer. "I'm not letting you sleep at the office again."

"You knew?" Yamaguchi said, surprised.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "You were wearing the same clothes as the day before. Either you stayed at the office, or you had a very good night."

"Maybe it was the second one," Yamaguchi grumbled.

"You just admitted otherwise," Tsukishima said.

Yamaguchi opened his mouth and then closed it again. Damn it. "Fine, you win," he said and started shutting down his computer. "I'll let you buy me dinner."

"Good. And you know," Tsukishima added airily as he started walking toward the elevator, "if you want a very good night for real after that, I'm okay with that, too."

It took a second for Yamaguchi's brain to catch Tsukishima's meaning, but once it did, he nearly tripped over his feet as he ran after him.

“Hey, wait up!”


	9. Day 9 - Graffiti/Street Artists

Prompt: Graffiti artists, Rating: G. Google leads me to believe that Japanese street artists often show their art live, performance-art style. If that’s wrong, apologies! I’m not researching more than that for a 15-minute fic, though. ~700 words, Yamaguchi is a semi-anonymous street artist, Tsukishima is his fanboy. Time for a meet-cute!

\--

Red ropes were squared off near a section of grey wall, chairs set up just beyond the ropes. The night was chilly and Tsukishima’s jacket wasn’t nearly warm enough, but he didn’t care. He’d been following 12’s art for a while now, whenever a new installation showed up in the area. And now Tsukishima had proof miracles really did come true. One night when they were leaving university practice, Tsukishima stopped dead in the street to look at 12’s newest piece, making Kageyama run directly into his back. And miracle of miracles, Kageyama both remembered that later and pulled strings with some pro-scouts to get Tsukishima a ticket. 12 was popular, famous even, and no mere mortals had access to his work. Tsukishima couldn’t even begin to decide how to work off that debt.

“What do I owe you?” Tsukishima had asked, staring down at the ticket in his hands in disbelief.

“Nothing,” Kageyama said. Then he smiled his terrifying smile. “A thank you is enough.”

And so Tsukishima had gritted his teeth and managed to grind out a muttered _thank you_ , even though it was one of the hardest things he’d ever done in his life. But it was all worth it when 12 emerged from the shadows.

12 was probably about Tsukishima’s age, tall, lanky, with hair that had one stubborn piece that stood up in the back. A mask covered the lower half of his face, but he had nice eyes and bowed politely to the small crowd before getting to work.

And seeing him work was a beautiful thing. Tsukishima watched with interest as 12 switched out can after can of spray paint, layering on lines until a picture started to form. The piece was a man facing the ocean, a giant wave about to crash into him. But there was nothing scared about the man’s form; instead, it was open, welcoming, like he and the water were destined to meet.

When 12 finally tagged the piece and turned around to bow again, the crowd clapped politely and started to disperse, but Tsukishima was stunned and found himself breathless. He remained the last one seated, but he barely even noticed, unable to tear his eyes away from the man’s back. He couldn’t imagine ever feeling as brave as the graffiti’s subject seemed to be, and he felt amazed he got this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Tsukishima was finally starting to shake off the haze and get back his bearings when someone sat down next to him. 

“Are you okay?” the person asked. “Everyone’s gone, you know.”

“Thanks, Professor Obvious,” Tsukishima shot back automatically. “I thought I was in a crowded subway car until you pointed that out.”

The person laughed hard at that, and that unexpected reaction was enough that Tsukishima finally tore his eyes away from 12’s art and looked over. Then he startled — lanky guy, about Tsukishima’s age, hair with one stubborn piece that stood straight up. And, now without the mask obscuring his face, Tsukishima knew that the famous street artist 12 had the cutest freckles imaginable dotting his cheeks and nose.

“I noticed you during the performance,” 12 said. “Most people just want tickets to say they got tickets. But you – you really watched, didn’t you?”

Tsukishima swallowed and nodded, then croaked out, “I’ve been following your work for months, but this is the best thing I’ve seen from you.”

12 grinned widely at that. “I had no idea I had such hot fanboys,” he said and grinned wider when Tsukishima blinked at him and felt his face grow suddenly warm. “What’s your name?”

“Tsukishima Kei.” Then, Tsukishima sat up straight in his seat and said boldly, “What’s yours?” Maybe he did have some bravery in him.

“Yamaguchi Tadashi,” 12 – Yamaguchi – said automatically, then looked astonished that he’d given his real name so freely. “Uh. Don’t let that get out.”

“I won’t,” Tsukishima promised. “Especially if you want to get coffee with me now.”

Yamaguchi looked delighted. “Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

Tsukishima really hated that this meant he’d be forever in Kageyama’s debt, but somehow, he thought it might all be worth it.


	10. Day 10 - Fashion Industry

Prompt: Fashion industry, Rating: G. Fashion industry? Haha, sure. I can totally pull this one off. I’m wearing my best hoodie, after all. This one turned out long! 1430 words, not AU, Yamaguchi takes pictures of Tsukki and posts them to Insta, not very fashion-y.

\--

Yamaguchi started using his Instagram for real in his third year. He’d had the account forever, but he was usually too busy for SNS, and most of the people he wanted to talk to he saw every day at school.

But then he went on vacation with his parents to Okinawa and took a bunch of aquarium pictures, sending all of them to Tsukishima, who said “Do you think I’m your Instagram?” after the twenty-fifth picture. So he wound up posting them all there, too. It turned out there were a lot of fish-lovers on Instagram, and a lot of them stuck around when Yamaguchi starting posting food pictures, too.

When he got back home, Yamaguchi posted random pictures – a crosswalk, the bike rack outside of Karasuno, a picture of his feet in his volleyball shoes. They all got a bunch of likes and one weird comment about wanting to see his toes. One weekend, when he had plans with Tsukishima, he was running late to their meeting spot and he found Tsukishima already waiting for him. Tsukishima was leaning up against a stone wall, wearing his headphones, his eyes closed and head tilted up to the sky. He was wearing a striped sweater and tight, dark jeans that emphasized his long legs, and Yamaguchi bit his lip as he drank it all in. 

Without even thinking about it, he lifted up his phone and took a picture. The picture was moody, Tsukishima’s face half in shadow, and it looked like it could have been a spread in any major fashion magazine. It also made Yamaguchi’s heart thump inside his chest, a feeling that he pushed down again as quickly as it bubbled up.

He bounced over to Tsukishima’s side and tapped his hand to get his attention, showing him the picture after Tsukishima pushed his headphones down around his neck. “Look, Tsukki,” he said. “This is a good picture of you, isn’t it?”

Tsukishima shrugged.

“It is!” Yamaguchi insisted. “I’m gonna put it on Instagram.”

Tsukishima shrugged again. “You can, if you want,” he said doubtfully in a tone that clearly said _who would want to look at that?_

The answer was an uncomfortable number of people. Yamaguchi got flooded with likes. He got a bunch of comments asking if that was him and saying how hot he was, then others asked if he could post more pictures like that, and then ones telling him how cool his outfit was. Yamaguchi sent Tsukishima the link that night, feeling a mix of pleasure and jealousy over the whole thing. The pleasure made sense – first, Yamaguchi liked being right and second, he liked being right about Tsukishima specifically. The jealousy made sense, too, but not the kind of sense he wanted to admit out loud. He didn’t feel he had any right to it.

The next day, Yamaguchi met up with Tsukishima and Hinata at the arcade. Hinata asked them if they wanted to go because he’d heard rhythm games improved hand-eye coordination. Tsukishima said he wasn’t interested until Yamaguchi told him he’d heard there was a new game where you drive dinosaur cars, and then he only pretended he wasn’t interested until Yamaguchi told him to drop it and come along.

All 190 centimeters of Tsukishima barely fit into the machine, but he made it work, letting one of his legs stretch outside whenever he didn’t need it for the pedals. Yamaguchi passed by on a break between his own games and caught himself staring. Tsukishima was wearing different shoes than yesterday and another pair of dark pants. His jacket was new and he’d wound a long green scarf around his neck. Yamaguchi ducked inside the game, careful not to block Tsukishima’s view as he snapped another picture, the light of the game illuminating Tsukishima perfectly and catching a cool glare in his glasses.

After Tsukishima climbed out for a stretch, wandering over to make fun of Hinata stumbling through a dance game, Yamaguchi showed him that picture, too.

“It’s fine,” Tsukishima said, his voice tight for some reason. Yamaguchi glanced at his face and noticed he was blushing. “You can post that one, too, if you want.”

Yamaguchi did, and the same flood of comments came, even quicker than before. “Do you model?” one said. “You definitely should!” another quickly replied. A third person added, “You dress so well. Very cool!!!” with a bunch of hearts. He showed them to Tsukishima when they went out to eat afterward, and Hinata looked incredulous at the reaction. 

“This is all over Tsukishima?” he scoffed. “What a waste.” So Tsukishima stole the last of his fries, holding them too far above his head for Hinata to reach before shoving them all in his mouth at once.

“Serves you right,” Yamaguchi told Hinata.

“Post a picture of him like _that_ ,” Hinata said, gesturing at Tsukishima’s cheeks, as full as a squirrel readying himself for winter. “Bet he wouldn’t get as many likes now.”

Tsukishima’s eyes widened when Yamaguchi raised his phone, gesturing wildly as he started chewing fast before Yamaguchi had a chance to embarrass him. And of course he looked adorable anyway. It was unfair. Yamaguchi put his phone down without taking a picture.

“He probably would,” Yamaguchi said, his voice more wistful than he’d intended. Tsukishima swallowed then and looked at him with wide eyes; this time Yamaguchi thought he was the one who was blushing.

They walked to school together the next morning, Yamaguchi chattering on as usual, though he realized he was filling in more silent gaps than he had since Tsukishima shook himself out of his first-year funk. But it didn’t seem like Tsukishima was in a bad mood. Instead, it was almost like he was nervous about something; he kept fidgeting with the strap on his schoolbag and glancing away every time Yamaguchi would look over at him.

“Are you okay?” Yamaguchi asked tentatively.

“Of course,” Tsukishima said and shoved his glasses up with the back of his hand. Then he suddenly stopped walking and dropped into a crouch, rummaging through his bag. Just as abruptly, he stood up again. “Here,” he said and shoved something at Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi looked down at his hands. It was a camera bag and inside was a DSLR, like the pros used. It was on the older side, but it looked like it was in good shape.

“My brother had a phase in college where he thought he was going to be a photographer,” Tsukishima said. Then he shot Yamaguchi a crooked smile. “He was wrong.”

“Tsukki, I can’t accept this. These are really expensive,” Yamaguchi said, turning the camera over in his hand. Contradicting his words, he lifted the camera out and put the strap around his neck. The heavy weight of it felt strangely right.

“I know,” Tsukishima said. “That’s why our parents were so pissed off that he dropped the hobby almost as soon as they bought that for him. I asked about you, and they seemed relieved someone would get some use out of it.”

Tsukishima stepped in close and adjusted the strap for Yamaguchi’s neck. Yamaguchi lifted his head up in surprise, a feeling that only grew when he found his eyes meeting Tsukishima’s and neither of them broke the stare for several long moments.

Finally, Tsukishima exhaled and stepped back. “Good?” he asked, his voice rougher than normal.

“Yeah, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said, sounding pretty much the same.

“I just thought that if you were going to be my personal fashion photographer, you could use some better equipment.” 

“You don’t mind?”

Tsukishima shook his head. “Obviously not,” he said and he paused, starting to fidget with his shoulder strap again. “I – I guess I like the way I look through your eyes,” he said in one big exhale of words. 

Yamaguchi stared at him for a moment, and his heartbeat started to do a funny little tap dance inside his ribcage. “Oh,” he said finally, looking down at his shoes. 

Tsukishima cleared his throat. “Though I do have one request.”

“Anything,” Yamaguchi answered immediately, looking up again.

“The next time you post a picture of me, I want you in it, too.”

Yamaguchi grinned so wide the corners of his eyes crinkled up. “Sure, Tsukki!”

That night, Yamaguchi figured out the timer on Akiteru’s old camera so that the two of them could take a picture together the next day. He posted it with the caption _A photographer and his favorite subject._

And that one got more comments and likes than Yamaguchi had ever gotten before.


	11. Day 12 - Teachers, T

Day 12 – Teachers

~585 words, established relationship, they’re gon get fired.

\--

“Yamaguchi-sensei, can we ask you a question?” 

One of his students, a second-year, was nervously twisting her hands and standing in front of his desk. Yamaguchi smiled encouragingly, though he had no idea what this could be about. It was only the first day of school and all that had happened was the opening ceremony and the teachers giving a rundown of what they would be covering in the following year.

“Sure, Ando-san,” he said. “What’s up?”

“Is it – um – is it true you know the new girls’ volleyball coach?” Ando-san glanced back at the classroom doorway, where two of her friends were waving at her to go on. “He’s – um – he seems very cool.”

Yamaguchi was torn between cracking up and rolling his eyes, but settled on just nodding. He really thought that after nearly twenty years, he wouldn’t still be fielding confessions for Tsukki. It was just like old times. “Yes, Tsukishima-san and I are childhood friends,” he said and shot her another warm smile. “I’ll be sure to pass on your regards.”

Ando-san bowed deeply, which also nearly sent him into a fit of giggles, and then dashed out of the room with both of her friends in tow. He got up from his desk and headed toward the gym. It felt a bit weird walking through the halls of Karasuno, preparing to bug Tsukishima about lunch, but he guessed what they always said was true: The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

Tsukishima was in the gym the girls’ team shared with basketball when Yamaguchi found him. He was only working there part-time, freelancing from home the rest of the time. Yamaguchi was glad Takeda had convinced the new vice-principal that it was better to pay knowledgeable coaches, instead of relying on the teachers or the kindness of the locals to take care of Karasuno’s sports teams. Ukai-san was the first beneficiary of that policy change, paving the way for others, including Tsukishima. Which was good. Yamaguchi couldn’t see Tsukki taking on teaching as a full-time gig.

“Is this where I find the _very cool_ new girls’ volleyball coach? The _very cool_ one who didn’t realize he wasn’t wearing his glasses this morning until his generous boyfriend told him because he was so nervous?”

Tsukishima turned around then and Yamaguchi’s suppressed laughter finally bubbled over. He was wearing a headband, the same kind Ukai-san still wore even though his hairline had moved back a few centimeters over the years.

“Do you like it?” Tsukishima said, patting the top of his head. “Takeda-sensei said it brought out my eyes.”

“It does,” Yamaguchi agreed and allowed it when Tsukishima crossed the gym to wrap his arms around Yamaguchi’s waist, pulling him close. “Takeda-sensei’s giving you gifts now? Should I be jealous?”

“No,” Tsukishima said, very seriously, holding Yamaguchi’s gaze for several seconds. A shiver ran down Yamaguchi’s spine; it was totally unfair that Tsukishima still made him feel like that after all this time. Then Tsukishima moved in for a kiss, which is when Yamaguchi finally remembered where they were. He shoved a hand in between them and pushed Tsukishima’s face back.

“Tsukki, we’re in the gym! Anyone could walk in on us here.”

Tsukishima smirked. “Then I guess it’s time we break in the storage closet again,” he said. “It’s just like old times.”

Yamaguchi easily let himself be led away, wondering if that closet had missed them. Well, there was only one way to find out.


	12. Day 13 - Time Travel, G

Prompt: Time Travel, 296 words. WELCOME to the WORLD of TOMORROW! Tsukki's real extra.

\--

The guy who stumbles into the coffee shop is as tall and skinny as Tsukishima, has blue chin-length hair, and wears triangular sunglasses. His entire outfit looks like it’s made from aluminum foil, so even if he wasn’t panicked and gasping Yamaguchi’s name, Yamaguchi probably would have noticed him. After all, everyone who isn’t him is noticing this dude right now.

“You’re Yamaguchi Tadashi, right?” the guy asks, gripping both of Yamaguchi’s biceps. He’s wearing silver gloves, too. Yamaguchi wonders if his underwear is silver, too. He manages a nod. “Thank god,” the guy sighs.

“Who the hell are you?” Yamaguchi asks, as politely as anyone can ask that.

“That’s not important,” the guy says. “What _is_ important is that no matter what you do, when Tsukishima Kei asks you out tomorrow, you have to say yes. The future depends on it!”

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi asks. Okay, more like squeaks. “He won’t – he’d never – he probably won’t do that.”

“He will,” Future Man insists. “And when he does, make sure you agree. He’ll even pay if you ask.”

Yamaguchi swallows and nods. “Okay, I’ll say yes tomorrow.”

“You _promise_?”

“I promise!” Yamaguchi says. “For humanity!”

Future Man nods back seriously and sort of twirls and leaps out of the shop again, flourishing a weird silver cape Yamaguchi hadn’t even noticed before, disappearing around a corner in a flash.

Yamaguchi cracks up and goes back to his homework as soon as Tsukishima’s gone. Who does he think he’s fooling? Also, Tsukki could have asked any old time and he would have said yes. They’d been dancing around each other long enough and he’d just been working up his own nerve. But, Yamaguchi decides, he did kind of like the wig.

And he’s still wondering about that silver underwear.


End file.
